Natural Language Processing: Can Computers Converse with People?
 
 

Computer Understanding: Can A Computer Read and "Understand" a Newspaper Article?

Can Computers Translate Languages?

Can Computers Play Games Well?

Can Computers Learn?

Can Computers Write Poetry?
 
 

 http://www.research.ibm.com/deepblue/home/html/b.html

1951: Alan Turing discusses the concept of an 'evaluation function" for chess and how this could be used to have a computer play chess.

1966: Mahack at MIT was the first computer to defeat a human being.

1988: HITECH (Carneigie-Mellon) becomes first chess program to rank as Senior Master.

1989: Deep Thought (Feng Hsiang Hsu at Carnegie-mellon) becomes first computer to achieve U. S. Chess Federation performance rating of 2500. Beats a Grandmaster, but is beaten by Kasparov and Karpov. (Looks ahead 10-11 levels).

1990: Deep Thought (IBM) can beat all but top 200 chess players in world on regular basis.

1993: Deep Thought II: Beats 20th ranked Grandmaster. (IBM RS/6000 computer). (looks ahead 14 levels).

1996: Deep Blue in touranment with Garry Kasparov. Beats Kasparov in early game, but loses series narrowly.

1997: Deep Blue wins by 3.5 to 2.5. ("The end of mankind" says Kasparov).

RS/6000 technology now tackles complex "real world" problems :

Cleaning up toxic waste sites

Forecasting the weather

Modeling financial data

Designing cars

Developing innovative drug therapies
 
 

Part 2